Football fanship is a means of social bonding that defies ethnic and religious divides among Nigerians. On weekends, avid football fans who profess loyalty to European clubs would do anything to avoid missing their favourite teams’ matches.
Europe is the dream destination for footballers and managers
who aspire to perform at the highest level. Little wonder European teams,
particularly those in the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga and Italian
Serie A, attract the best talents and boast the most significant number of
supporters from across the world including Nigeria.
Besides the thrill of exciting matches, many fans identify
with these teams for various reasons. For some, support for a countryman plying
his trade with a team translates to support for the whole team. Some others
support a team out of love for a manager, while others generally develop a
fondness for a club from recurrent viewing of their matches.
While those who barely watch football wonder why grown men
and women display loyalty to teams and players who barely recognize them,
football fans are usually unfazed by criticisms. For them, identifying with a
football team brings a sense of belonging among football communities either
online or offline and in some instances, they identify to feel a sense of pride
that comes with associating with a winning team.
The ever-expanding football fandom in Nigeria would have
been impossible without MultiChoice Nigeria. The company bridged the distance
barrier that would have made access to European football an exclusive privilege
of the wealthy by bringing these matches to the screens of many Nigerians at an
affordable rate.
Since its entrance into the broadcasting space in Nigeria in
1993, the company has invested billions of naira to procure broadcasting rights
for its flagship sports channel SuperSport, available on DStv and GOtv. It has
also employed football experts, analysts, and veteran footballers to provide
match analysis and predictions for major leagues and competitions.
As a result, a regular subscriber on GOtv Max can access all
matches from top leagues such as La Liga, Serie A, and Europa League, while
still being able to access a few matches from the Premier League and the
Champions League for just N4, 125. As such, football lovers, regardless of
their socio-economic class, can watch their favourite teams’ matches.
And this phenomenon has brought various dynamics of
socio-economic benefits for the country. Just as recently, MultiChoice Nigeria
hosted a football watch party for fans to share matchday moments together. Such
avenues foster togetherness among Nigerians and boost trade activities among
vendors.
Similarly, football fanship has contributed its fair share
to employment opportunities. There’s hardly a Nigerian community, no matter how
small, that doesn’t have a football viewing centre. These centres are run by
youth and adults who make a good living for themselves by showing premium
football matches for fans, who either cannot afford the higher subscription
packages or enjoy the football banter that such centres provide.
As more people show interest in football, it has also
birthed sports programmes on broadcast media, sports-focused newspapers, blogs,
social media influencers, and podcasts among others. Individuals make their
source of livelihood from offering these services.
One cannot also ignore the rise of competitions and trivia
to reward football fans. The Fantasy Premier League game created by the English
Premier League is popular among young Nigerians who use the platform to test
their football management skill. Some brands have tapped into this frenzy and
created means to reward top-performing players.
In the same vein, Nigeria has a teeming population of
youngsters, both male and female. MultiChoice has enabled them to watch
world-class footballers that can inspire them to aim for a glorious
career. Also, as more Nigerian players
ply their trade in Europe, these youngsters have homegrown talents to look up
to.
Nigeria has untapped potential in sports. With the
commitment of companies like MultiChoice, these potentials can be transformed
into socio-economic advantages